10.  In 1993, the applicant arrived in the United Kingdom from Ethiopia and sought political asylum. She was initially provided with accommodation by the social services department of Hammersmith and Fulham Council (“the Council”). On 21 April 1997, the applicant moved into accommodation owned by a housing association. A member of the housing association's staff assisted the applicant to complete her application for housing and council tax benefit which was submitted to the Council in April 1997. This application was successful.
11.  The applicant was required by law to renew her application for housing and council tax benefit on an annual basis. Because of her lack of familiarity with the benefits system and her poor English, the applicant failed to submit a benefit renewal form to the Council by the required time. In September 1998, the applicant received correspondence from the housing association about her rent arrears. As the applicant did not understand the correspondence, she sought assistance from the Council's advice office. After obtaining this advice the applicant realised that her housing and council tax benefit had ceased. She therefore submitted a prospective claim as well as a backdated claim for both types of benefit to 15 June 1998.
12.  The prospective claim was successful and the applicant began to receive housing benefit again from 4 October 1998, but on 4 November 1998 the Council rejected the application for backdated benefit because the applicant had failed to show “good cause” why she had not claimed the benefits earlier.
13.  During the period from 15 June to 4 October 1998 the applicant lost housing benefit of GBP 860.00, and since her rent in any event exceeded the benefit to which she had been entitled, her rent arrears amounted to GBP 1,068.86. The housing association commenced possession proceedings, seeking the applicant's eviction for non-payment of rent, and the Council also brought proceedings based on the applicant's failure to pay council tax of GBP 163.36 for the year 1998/99. On 19 October 1998 a court order was made allowing the Council to deduct GBP 2.60 per week from the applicant's income support of GBP 35.87.
14.  On 9 November 1998, the applicant's legal advisers wrote to the Council requesting that they reconsider their refusal. However, by letter dated 4 February 1999, the Council informed the applicant that they were upholding their initial decision to refuse council tax and housing benefits.
15.  The applicant appealed. The case was heard on 10 September 1999 by Hammersmith and Fulham Council Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit Review Board (“the HBRB”). The HBRB consisted of three Councillors from the Council. It was advised by a barrister from the Council's legal department. The applicant was represented by Fulham Legal Advice Centre and the Council was represented by a Council benefits officer. The HBRB rejected the applicant's appeal, finding that the applicant must have received some correspondence from the local authority during the period from 15 June to 4 October 1998 concerning the council tax she owed, although no such correspondence was produced to it.
16.  On 13 September 1999 the housing association's possession proceedings against the applicant concluded with a court order requiring her to pay off the rent arrears at GBP 2.60 a week (in addition to the GBP 2.60 per week for council tax arrears).
17.  On 6 December 1999, the applicant sought judicial review of the HBRB's decision. She complained that the HBRB had acted unlawfully because it had failed to make adequate findings of fact or provide sufficient reasons for its decision. The applicant also alleged that the HBRB was not an “independent and impartial” tribunal under Article 6 § 1 of the Convention.
18.  On 31 January 2000, the High Court dismissed the applicant's application for leave to apply for judicial review on the grounds that the Convention had not yet been incorporated into English law, and further dismissed the application on the merits, on the grounds that the HBRB's decision was neither unreasonable nor irrational. The applicant was unable to appeal because legal aid was refused. The applicant subsequently obtained Counsel's opinion that the appeal had no prospects of success.